Katherine Sophia Kane

Katherine Sophia Baily was born 11 March 1811, the only child of Henry and Bridget Baily (née O'Kelly). When her husband was elected President of the newly formed Queen's College Cork, Lady Kane refused to move there, preferring to stay in Dublin, tending to her collection of exotic plants. The Kanes had seven surviving children, including Robert Romney Kane and Henry Coey Kane. She died 25 February 1886 in Dublin. ==Botanical work==

The 1833 Linnean botanical work The Irish Flora, which was published anonymously, is ascribed to her. Katherine was aged 22 at the time of its first publication and although not a large work, it was one of the first of its kind, and lauded for its accuracy. The book became the recommended botany text in Trinity College, Dublin as it contained the first record of many plants. It is believed John White, of the Irish Botanic Gardens, helped with the compilation of the work, In 1836, the then 25-year-old Katherine became the first woman to be elected member of the Botanical Society of Edinburgh, and her herbarium is housed in University College Cork. She had an interest in the cultivation of trees, writing about the subject for the ''Irish Farmer's and Gardener's Magazine''. ==References==